Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroyakak XXXTentacion was an American rapper, singer and songwriter. A controversial figure within the hip hop industry, Onfroy has been regarded to have left behind "a huge musical footprint" due to his impact on his young fanbase and his popularity during his short career.

Onfroy began writing music after being released from a juvenile detention center and started his music career on SoundCloud in 2013, where he soon became a popular figure in SoundCloud rap, a trap scene that takes elements of lo-fi music and harsh 808s. Onfroy rose to mainstream fame with the song "Look at Me" which is now certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. He released his debut album, 17, on August 25, 2017, which debuted at number 2 on the US Billboard 200, receiving a positive response from critics, some of which lauded the album for its personal narratives and diverse musical style. On August 15, 2018, the album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Onfroy's second album, ?, was released on March 16, 2018, and it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, with its singles "Sad!", "Changes" and "Moonlight" all reaching the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on August 7, 2018. In the week following his death, Onfroy's highest-charting single, "Sad!", went from 52nd to 1st on the Billboard Hot 100, making him the first artist to top the Hot 100 posthumously in a lead role since The Notorious B.I.G., with "Mo Money Mo Problems", in 1997. A few months after his death, he won the Best New Hip Hop Artist at the BET Hip Hop Awards and won the Favourite Album-Soul/R&B for 17 at the American Music Awards. Onfroy's third studio album, Skins, was posthumously released in December 2018.

Onfroy's interest in music initially started after his aunt persuaded him to begin attending school choir and later church choir. He was soon kicked out of the school choir after attacking another student. Onfroy attended Margate Middle School from which he was later expelled after a series of physical altercations. He was subsequently enrolled into Sheridan House Family Ministries by his mother for over six months. Onfroy began to listen to nu-metal, hard rock and rap during his time at Sheridan House Family Ministries, which led to him to learn the piano and guitar.

Onfroy's career as a music artist began in June 2013 after the release of his song "News/Flock". While in juvenile detention for gun possession charges, Onfroy met Stokeley Clevon Goulbourne, another artist known as Ski Mask the Slump God. During their time together, Onfroy and Goulbourne became good friends and began freestyling. Recalling his time in detention, Onfroy said that he was respectful to the officers and staff and used to protect people from other inmates, including a homosexual cellmate, whom Onfroy later attacked for allegedly staring at him while he was changing clothes.

That same year, following his release from a juvenile detention center, Onfroy and Goulbourne met up again under the belief they were going to commit a string of home invasions for monetary gain though Onfroy eventually bought a Blue Snowball microphone and began recording music, which convinced Stokeley to do the same. After Onfroy adopted the moniker XXXTentacion, he uploaded his first official song, called "Vice City", on SoundCloud. Speaking on his decision to abandon a life of crime for music, Onfroy said that he felt like music was a better outlet for his feelings and then-girlfriend Geneva Ayala was someone who helped him realize that. He would then continue uploading small snippets of his songs that he would either soon release or keep unreleased. Onfroy eventually joined Ski Mask the Slump God's group Very Rare, before breaking off and starting the Members Only collective, which Ski Mask then also joined. The word "tentación" in his stage name is the Spanish word for "temptation".

Onfroy released his first official extended play (EP), called The Fall, on November 21, 2014. Onfroy released one collaboration album with Ski Mask the Slump God, called Members Only Vol. 1, before releasing Members Only Vol. 2 in 2015 with several members of the growing Members Only collective. In 2016, he released the EP Willy Wonka Was a Child Murderer, with music heavily inspired by heavy metal and indie music. In 2016, Onfroy quit his job as a call center operator due to his growing music career and moved in with rapper Denzel Curry.

In July 2016, Onfroy was arrested and charged with robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. After posting $10,000 bail, Onfroy continued to work on his debut independent album, Bad Vibes Forever, which had a slated October 31, 2016, release date. The album missed the release date and was delayed due to Onfroy being arrested in early October on charges of false imprisonment, witness tampering and aggravated battery of his pregnant girlfriend.

In 2017 "Look at Me" gained traction, peaked at number 34 on US Billboard Hot 100 and the top 40 of the Canadian Hot 100. The single helped him gain more popularity due to accusations of Canadian rapper Drake using a similar rap flow in his song "KMT". During his jail stint, Onfroy signed a deal to be managed by Soloman Sobande (who would remain his manager until his death) and despite Onfroy being in jail during "Look at Me"'s initial breakthrough, major-label scouts began offering six-figure contracts and Onfroy eventually signed for Empire Distribution for lower royalty rate, full creative control and a smaller upfront payment.

After his release from prison on April 18, 2017, he released three more songs on SoundCloud. In an interview with WMIB, Onfroy announced that he was working on the studio albums Bad Vibes and 17; as well as a mixtape, I Need Jesus. In an interview three days after his release from prison, Onfroy said to XXL, "I got this really, really, really good album called 17. That's more of an alternative, R&B sound—then I've got this mixtape called I Need Jesus, which is mainly rap and the underground sound I did."

Onfroy announced his first nationwide tour on April 28, 2017. The tour, titled "The Revenge Tour", had 26 tour dates overall and generated much media coverage, included that of a rapper being assaulted, Onfroy being knocked out after an altercation on stage, an audience member being stabbed, Onfroy being thrown into a barricade by security, and Onfroy punching a fan. He announced the cancellation of the rest of the tour dates due to his cousin being shot on June 24, 2017, though the final tour date in Broward County, Florida, still went ahead and was later streamed on the watchthemusic (WAV) app.

Onfroy released his debut commercial project, called Revenge, on May 16, 2017. The mixtape consists of eight previously released songs. The collaborative mixtape, Members Only, Vol. 3, with Members Only, was released on June 26, 2017.

He released his debut album, 17, on August 25, 2017. The album debuted at number 2 on the US Billboard 200, selling 86,000 album-equivalent units first week. The album received a positive response from critics, some of whom lauded the album for its personal narratives and diverse musical style. On September 3, 2017, Onfroy announced that Bad Vibes Forever, his second album, was still in production. 17 gave Onfroy's seven songs—"Jocelyn Flores", "Revenge", "Fuck Love", "Everybody Dies in Their Nightmares", "Depression & Obsession", "Save Me" and "Carry On"—that debuted in the Billboard Hot 100 at number 31, 77, 41, 54, 91, 94 and 95, respectively. Jocelyn Flores became XXXTentacion's highest-charting song since "Look at Me", which peaked it at 34. Onfroy then had his ninth song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, in turn with his being featured on Kodak Black's song "Roll in Peace", taken from Project Baby 2. The song debuted at 52 and peaked at 31, matching "Jocelyn Flores."

On September 12, 2017, Onfroy released his first official music video for his 2016 song "Look at Me", as well as sharing a music video with his 2015 song "Riot". The song generated controversy hours after being posted due to the video depicting a white child being hanged by Onfroy, as another black child observed. The music video was removed from YouTube months later. Onfroy's label, Bad Vibes Forever, signed a distribution deal with Capitol Music Group subsidiary, Caroline, on October 19, 2017. The deal, reportedly worth $6 million, was for one album only. Shortly afterwards on October 25, 2017, Onfroy announced he was terminating his contract with Caroline despite a representative confirming he was still signed. Two days later, he announced that he was retiring due to negativity and backlash though some publications noted that Onfroy made similar statements before and not followed through. On October 30, 2017, Onfroy announced that he would make music again if fellow Broward rapper and "former best friend," Ski Mask the Slump God, was his friend again. Later, Onfroy answered a fan's question on Instagram Live about his retirement, saying, "Am I quitting? Yes, I'm quitting—I don't know for how long, but I'm just not going to make music right now."

Onfroy previewed new music on November 2, 2017, signaling a return to making music.

On December 11, 2017, Onfroy released the A Ghetto Christmas Carol EP on SoundCloud. A day before his hearing for witness tampering charges, Onfroy announced that he was preparing three albums to be ready for 2018, and after being released on house arrest, he announced the titles of all three albums, Skins, Bad Vibes Forever and ?.

On June 18, 2018, Onfroy was leaving the Riva Motorsports motorcycle dealership in Deerfield Beach, Florida and at approximately 3:55 p.m., was blocked from exiting the car park by a black Dodge Journey SUV. Two armed men exited the SUV and approached the rapper while he was sitting in the driver's seat. A brief struggle occurred, and the armed men reached inside Onfroy's vehicle, stole a small Louis Vuitton bag, and shot Onfroy multiple times. The shooters fled the scene in their SUV and Onfroy was transported by paramedics to the nearby Broward Health North hospital in Deerfield Beach, where he was pronounced dead. Onfroy's death was announced by the Broward County Sheriff's Office at approximately 5:30 p.m. Suspect Dedrick Devonshay Williams of Pompano Beach was arrested two days after the shooting, shortly before 7 p.m. Held in the Broward County jail, he is charged with first degree murder without premeditation. In the weeks following the event, three different people were arrested for their actions involved with the event, including trigger man Michael Boatwright.

In his will, Onfroy named his mother Cleopatra and brother Aiden as the sole beneficiaries of his estate. Onfroy's future child, that his girlfriend at the time of his death was pregnant with, was not named in the will as the will was written before the pregnancy.

Source.